Something Unexpected
by Jakin Rose
Summary: Discouraging news, trust given by one who doesn't do so lightly, and new members of the family... all these things and more you will find in my first ever fic here actually, first ever on the internet, period
1. Chapter 1

At the end of an almost deserted street in muggle London, there stood what looked like an old, rundown building. However, it was actually an over-filled orphanage. The owner, Ms. Abigail Morgan, lived at Little Angels Orphanage full time. Her employees, Kaylie, Austin, Jamie, and Andrew worked shifts - Kaylie and Andrew worked the day shift, while Austin and Jamie worked nights. They were seated at the kitchen table comparing notes, before Kaylie and Andrew left. "We got two more today." Andrew said, "Twins. Two boys named Taylor and Trevor, they're nine years old." The twins currently being discussed were sitting on a couch in the playroom, as close as they could get to each other. Their strawberry blonde curls stood out against tanned skin. Two sets of bluish-green eyes swept over the other kids playing, both silently trying to comfort each other. As Jamie was about to ask about the twins, there was a knock at the door. She got up and opened the wide entrance. 

She looked around and didn't see anything at first, but then she heard a soft sobbing. Jamie turned to her left and saw a small child sitting on the steps, shoulders shaking. She walked over to the little girl and said softly, "Hey, my name is Jamie, would you like to come inside?" The girl nodded and stood up, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Holding the girl's small hand, Jamie led her inside. "Someone just dropped her off." She explained to the four sets of questioning eyes on her and peered down to get a good look at the trembling girl. Red-blonde hair hung down to the tiny shoulders, wide purplish-gray eyes looked at everyone with a mixture of confusion and fear, tiny freckles dotted the bridge of her nose. Andrew got up from his seat, slowly approaching the little girl and kneeled down to her level, ⌠What's your name?" he asked in a gentle voice. Silence. Jamie noticed a small envelope pinned to the girl's jacket and took it off. She opened it and started to read out loud:

To the Little Angels Orphanage

I know that dropping this child on your doorstep and leaving wasn't a very considerate thing to do, but we had no choice. The child is four years old, her name is Jade Lily and she was born on May 10th 2010. We know that we should have come to the door with her, but we couldn't bear to see the realization on Jade's face. With no money and our deaths in the near future, you were the only hope we had to ensure Jade is cared for by someone, and hopefully, given a better life and family that can provide for her. Please help her find a wonderful loving family.

Thank you

Jade's Guardians

Putting the letter back in its envelope, Jamie once again looked down at the little girl, "Well, I guess I'll go get her situated. I think that there's still one bed on the girl's side." She picked Jade up and carried her upstairs, no protest was heard from her. The others began discussing matters after she was out of sight, like the lack of money coming in and the upcoming adoption day. Dreading the answer, Abigail asked, "Austin, how many kids do we have?" Looking through his papers he quickly answered, "Twelve boys and sixteen girls, eleven of those 28 are babies and toddlers." He looked to his boss , "And where does this new girl fit in?" "Well, she's four so that makes her the youngest girl here that's not wearing diapers." Abigail ended the discussion, and with hurried good-byes, all four either got to work or left. Jamie left the little girl on her new bed offering worn words of comfort. When the woman walked out of the room, Jade's eyes filled with tears, overwhelming loneliness cradling her to sleep.

Meanwhile, Abigail Morgan went to her office and proceeded to update the list of kids at the orphanage. When she finished, she frowned again to herself at the number of kids currently residing at the already-too-small orphanage, then put the list away and went to help Austin and Jamie.

Not too far away in the magical community, a young couple that had been married for little less than a year sat holding hands in the waiting room of St.Mungo's; the well known wizarding hospital. The man, only 24, would occasionally lean in and whisper to his wife, just 23, that everything was going to be alright. You see, both had fought in a war that cost the evil wizard Lord Voldermort, and many others to lose their lives. Through the terrible years of fighting and death, these two became fast friends and eventually fell in love, a light in dark times.

The young man was none other than Draco Malfoy, the son of a Voldermort's right hand man and a useful spy to the order in the last months of the war. Harry Potter himself would vouch for Draco now, for he had saved his life during the last battle. Draco's young bride was Ginerva Weasley, she too had come to trust Draco completely. And now here they were, sitting in St. Mungo's waiting for the results of the test she had taken earlier. Soon enough a mediwitch approached them and sat down in a chair in front of them. "I've got some good news, and some bad news.

Which would you like first?" she asked gently. Ginny answered for both of them, "The good. Please." She squeezed Draco's hand in anticipation. The young mediwitch looked at them and began, "Well, the good news is you have a wonderful, healthy six-year-old son, and you should be very proud of him." Draco's eyes closed as he remembered the day Gideon was born, exactly nine months after the best day of his life. He and Ginny had been trapped in a cave after luring Death Eaters into an Auror trap, a blast from someone's wand had caved them in.

And they had loved each other. Now Gideon was six, the apple of Ginny's eye, and the light of Draco's heart. The grip on his hand became tighter as the young woman with the clipboard went on, " However, I'm afraid that Gideon will be an only child." And proceeded to tell them the test results. It seemed Ginny, after Gideon was born, stressed her body to the point of breaking, and was unable to have more children. Ginny collapsed against Draco, not wanting to believe it, but the same time knowing it was true. Draco comforted Ginny as best he could without losing it himself. After sitting there for what seemed like hours, but was only minutes, Draco stood up and helped Ginny to her feet. He thanked the mediwitch, then, hand in hand, they slowly walked to the apparition point, and went home. Once there, they collapsed on the loveseat in the sitting room. And Draco held Ginny tight as her heart broke.

It had been a month since Jade had been dropped off, and she had slowly broken out of her lonely shell. The staff was surprised at her friendly demeanor after being so quiet and withdrawn. The twins, Taylor and Trevor, who were brought in the same day had been taken with her; lovingly calling her tiger and teasingly Jake, for she was quite the tomboy. They had even gone as far as to say they adopted her as their little sister! On any day, if you took a peek at Jade, Taylor, and Trevor, you would find them inseparable.

Today, they were playing outside with some of the other kids, when Jade, having too much fun to care about silly rocks, tripped over and fell. Emilie, who was closest to Jade, helped her get into a sitting position, while Rebecca and Hannah, as soon as they saw the blood, ran inside to find the closest adult. Rebecca and Hannah found Andrew and started to squeak out the situation. The twins were by her side in an instant; Trevor wiping her tears while Taylor tried to make her laugh. Andrew rushed outside, and forgetting how close the twins and Jade were, pushed them away and started to pick her up. Jade however didn't like the idea and let out a fresh howl of pain and anger.

Andrew quickly remembered the bond and said soothingly "It's okay, the boys will come with you." He then picked her up, walking quickly to the first floor bathroom and settling her down on the sink. Taylor and Trevor stood on each side of her to keep her calm. It took Andrew only a few minutes to clean Jade up and bandage her cut. With a 'You're all set,' and a popsicle, she was off to play, the twins right next to her; and this time, mindful of the Jade-hating rocks.

Meanwhile, at Malfoy manor, there was laughter ringing throughout the halls. Today, a couple was celebrating the 7th birthday of their son Gideon. As much fun as all the guests were having, the father of the birthday boy was wishing of something he would never have. For the last week, he had been daydreaming all of the time, and a child at the party threw him back into his own world...Katie. Ron and Hermione had brought their two children to the party; Isaac, their oldest, was a year younger than Gideon. Their second, only four, was Kathryn Alia, or Katie for short.

For some reason, Draco just could not keep his eyes off the youngest Weasley. Ever since their visit to St.Mungos a month ago, a small ache had slivered into his heart, an ache for a little girl of his own. But Draco couldn't tell Ginny, it would break her heart all over again. And so there he was, sitting in an armchair watching his beautiful son open presents, and wishing he had a little girl to pamper. Suddenly a hand touched his shoulder, Draco's head snapped to the connecting face, startled out of his trance. It was Molly Weasley. She smiled at her son-in-law, following his gaze to Katie, and noting the wishful look on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

"She's very cute isn't she?", she asked, sitting down in a chair next to him. Draco nodded, "You should tell Ginny how you feel." She continued. "Am I that obvious?" he asked with a crooked smile. "Arthur was the same way after Percy, you could see it in his eyes. Every time we saw a little girl run past, or hug her father." Molly than leaned in, whispering softly, "If you don't tell Ginny soon, she'll put two and two together, she's a smart girl, and it will hurt her if you don't say something." She then got up, and with a meaningful look, went to congratulate Gideon, leaving Draco to wallow in his thoughts. 

Molly seemed to be too right, too soon. The party came to a close, and everyone could feel the tension emanating off the couple. Molly used all her motherly power to discreetly send the partygoers home; all took heed. Ginny, was furious.

Molly turned to the couple, the last to leave. She smiled sadly, her big blue Weasley eyes shining. "I'm going to take Gideon with me until you two figure everything out. I wish I could say it'll be alright." And disappeared. Draco slowly turned to Ginny, his mouth fluttering open, than closing. No words would make this situation right. She turned her back on him and walked up the stairs, shoulders shaking. A door slammed shut. Small vases shattered against the wall, Draco soon dropping the objects and using his fists instead. The anger burning a pit in his stomach; the hurt pushing the tears down his cheeks.

Ten minutes and the crashingbangingyelling stopped. He wordlessly stumbled in the room, and packed a small bag. A desperate look and a more desperate kiss, then he was gone. No word to where he was going, or when he would be back.

It had been almost a year since Jade was dropped off at the Little Angels Orphanage, and the bond between Taylor, Trevor, and the little girl only got stronger. They were currently sitting in the playroom having a tickling war. The usual when adoption day came round, as no maybe-parent was permitted there; a safe-haven if you will for the children who didn't want to be adopted. They were the only three in there. The front doors opened promptly at 8:00 AM as usual, and the few visitors trickled in slowly, as usual. But today was a different day, a different smell in the air, if you will. Today was the beginning.

The man stood out, the ginger red hair, scruffy as ever and a caramel tan. His cornflower blue eyes scanned the visible rooms as someone, who could only known as a Weasley, leisurely walked through the wide door. She had shoulder length black hair and the same beautiful tan as he did. Her eyes were emerald green and they sparkled as she looked lovingly at the man. "Charlie, we don't have to do this." Was said with a soft lilting voice. The man looked at her, the same loving look in his eyes.

"I want to." Andrew approached the couple, same-as-ever "May I help you?" on his lips. Samantha Weasley, Charlie Weasley's wife, smiled and said, with a now firm determination, "We're looking to adopt." Andrew's smile turned into a grin when Charlie added enthusiastically, "Boys preferably!" Andrew nodded with a small laugh and led them through the orphanage pointing out some of the younger boys. "Who's in there?"Charlie asked as Andrew led them past the playroom.

Hopefully, they would have ignored the three in there, but no. Samantha gently opened the door while Andrew tried to explain the off-limits playroom. His words wholeheartedly ignored. Taylor paused in mid tickle as he saw the door open, Charlie's eyes wide as he followed his wife into the room with Andrew palming his face at the door. "That's just the twins and Jade." He said tonelessly, hoping to disinterest and lead the couple back out. He knew that to separate the boys and Jade would be heart breaking to them all.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air, curious and excited vibes coming off Charlie in waves. "What are their names?" he asked, indicating the twins. Jade was getting annoyed that the twins weren't paying attention to her anymore, and tried in vain to get it back, but the couple that looked so much like their old mommy and daddy had enraptured them. "That's Taylor and Trevor, the twins, and the little girl's name is Jade."

Samantha knelt down to the twins' level and smiling gently, said, "Hi, my name is Sam. What's yours?" Taking a look at each other the boys began their usual mix-everything up act. "I'm Trevor," Taylor said pointing to himself, "And I'm Taylor." Trevor said. Both with identical grins that made them look suspiciously like George and Fred Weasley. Jade looked from the boys to the adults and then stood up, kicked the closest twin to her, and ran out of the room looking like she was about to cry. Andrew watched her sadly "Excuse me, I better go after her." And followed Jade out.

Soon after Andrew left, the playroom was filled with talking and laughter as Charlie and Sam slowly fell in love with the twins. Although, when Andrew caught Jade on the stairs there was no happiness. "What's wrong Jade?" he asked. She said nothing; just let the tears roll down her small, sad face. He sighed and picked her up, carrying her back to the playroom "Don't worry. Talk to the twins; find out what's going on. 'kay?" A small nod was his only response.

Charlie was holding Taylor in his lap, Trevor sitting by Sam. By now the twins had told the couple who was who, and when Andrew walked in carrying a still crying Jade, they were all smiling. "We'd like to adopt them." Charlie told him, a smile spread on his face. The little girl in Andrew's arms began crying harder as she heard the dreaded words. Andrew rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. The twins' smiles faded as the words sunk in, "You mean, you're taking us home?" Taylor asked, looking at Charlie's face. Charlie nodded his smile starting to fade too, "Don't you want to come home with us?" Trevor added his voice to his brother's, "We won't live here no more?"

Sam looked down at the little boy beside her, "No honey, you'll come and live with us." Struggling soon accompanied crying, and poor Andrew was soon going to have bruise decor spread on his stomach. He closed the door to the playroom and sat her on the middle of the floor, her sobs only growing louder. Taylor and Trevor locked gazes and simultaneously slid from their spots, to Jade's side trying to calm her down, like they always did. And they weren't going to stop because of these new nice people.

After a minute, when Jade's demeanor still hadn't changed, the twins each grabbed one of the little girl's hands and walked out of the playroom, "We ain't leaving without Jade." Thrown over their backs. Charlie's grin was gone, Sam astonished. Both sent searching looks at Andrew, clearly wanting an explanation to the twins' actions.

12-year-old Devon was lounging on a chair in front of the television in the living room. The remote in his hand stilled momentarily as something on the screen caught his attention. As the twins and Jade made their way into the room though, his eyes were drawn to the three approaching the couch behind him. "Twerps out!" he said as he got up and approached them, eyeing the sobbing Jade warily.

Taylor looked at him before sitting down and said, "We ain't leaving!" "Never without Jade!" Taylor seemed to be talking to her more than Devon. The little girl's sobs died down slowly into quiet tears and sniffles. "What's wrong with the squirt?" The older boy asked. "People wanna adopt us, and she doesn't want us to go." "Tough break kid." Devon said, and went back to his chair. The cares of 12 year olds centered more on television then adoption. Besides, no one ever looked at Devon.

Andrew looked at the couple before him letting out a soft sigh and sitting down on the blue mats. "I'm sorry, I'll explain.." "When Jade first came to the orphanage she was a very sad little girl, her guardians had just dropped her off and left. That same day, an official brought the twins to us." He took a breath, "The twins slowly broke Jade out of her shell, and they are now inseparable. They treat her like a little sister and protect her. I'm not sorry to say that they got very attached to each other. Jade needed it, and it isn't a good idea to split them up." He looked at Sam and Charlie than, "It will break their hearts."

Charlie carefully listened to Andrew's explanation but smiled broadly. A plan was steadily forming in his mind. Samantha looked at him curiously before asking, "What are you thinking honey?" with her eyebrows raised questioningly. Charlie left the smile on his face and turned to Andrew, 'We still want to take the boys home with us, but I need to talk to all three kids first." He winked at his wife and walked out to find them. He found them in the living room without any trouble, only Devon glancing up to see who it was. Not knowing the person, and not really caring, he almost immediately went back to channel surfing.

Charlie walked up to them, and Jade spotted him instantly, clinging to Taylor as her cries started again. Devon turned the volume up on the TV, obviously not happy that the girl-twerp's crying broke the silence. Before speaking to the kids, Charlie turned to the 12 year old and sighed, recognizing a bit of rebellion in Devon that he had when he was 12. Then calmly said to Jade, "Relax little one, I only want to talk to you." He waited to begin speaking until the twins calmed her down again.

He knelt down to look all three of them in the face, "I know you boys don't want to leave this little angel behind, she's obviously like a sister to you." Trevor looked at Charlie curiously, as if wondering how he knew, "Andrew told me how attached you are to her." The twins nodded. Devon turned the volume back down on the TV, not really knowing why, but choosing instead to listen to the man talking then continue to watch the boring old person show that was splayed across the screen. "Well, what if I told you that she could be adopted too?' Trevor looked intently at Charlie's face and asked, in his beautiful, youthful innocence, "How?' wondering, and hoping against hope that Jade would somehow stay with them.


End file.
